Chicago Cubs Rumors: Team “will surely” pick up Cole Hamels option

Chicago Cubs: From his debut on, Hamels was lights-out in Chicago

In late July, Texas sat more than 20 games out of first in the highly competitive American League West and with Hamels struggling, decided to part ways with the 2008 World Series champion.

Through his five starts leading up to the trade, the southpaw struggled badly, pitching to an earned run average north of 10.00. Most teams, especially contenders, seemed to think Hamels could benefit from getting out of Arlington, where he served up home runs at an alarming rate.

But, when the dust settled, Chicago came out on top.

“We had over the course of a month, I believe there were six teams that inquired and there were four teams in earnest that we were talking to as late as yesterday,” Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels said. “It was a situation where we thought the time was right, we thought the deal made sense. We were comfortable.

The Cubs sent right-hander Eddie Butler, prospect Rollie Lacy and a player to be named later to Texas in exchange for Hamels. Really, the deal was a win-win on both sides. The Rangers are seemingly focused on restocking young, controllable arms and Chicago badly needed a consistent piece to round out the rotation.

Chicago Cubs: Silencing his critics, proving doubters wrong

More than a few fans thought bringing in Cole Hamels was a Jim Hendry-like move, one where the team relied on an aging veteran past his prime to deliver them from evil. The left-hander did his best to silence those folks in his first start in a Cubs uniform.

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In five scoreless innings on the road at PNC Park, Hamels struck out nine and scattered three hits. The Cubs picked up a 9-2 win over the Pirates – and the club continued to win every time the veteran took the ball. Chicago earned victories in Hamels’ first six starts as a Cub, spanning a tremendous month of August.

During that month, Hamels went 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA (three earned runs allowed in 39 innings) with a 1.000 WHIP.

He did not allow more than one earned run in a start in those half-dozen outings. That performance was good enough to net him National League Pitcher of the Month honors.

With one month left, it was crunch time – and the Cubs were sitting pretty. They maintained a 3 1/2 game lead over St. Louis and four full games over the Brewers. Then, the wheels came off.

Chicago Cubs: Fading down the stretch in September

After going undefeated and leading his team to six wins in his first month, Hamels’ fortunes shifted drastically in September, through no fault of his own.

If you take a quick look at his earned run average by month, you might think Cole Hamels completely fell to pieces in the final month. You’d be wrong, though. He took the ball six times and allowed more than three earned runs just one time – on Sept. 19 against Arizona.

In that start, he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in a 9-0 Cubs loss. His season ERA jumped from 3.67 to 3.90 after this outing. On the whole, Chicago won just one Cole Hamels start in September. It’s hardly fair to place the blame at the feet of the left-hander. The offense, as a whole, performed poorly in the second half and it cost the team dearly.

But when you look at what Hamels brought to the table in his 12 starts with the Chicago Cubs, you can’t help but be happy. He allowed more than three earned runs once and more than two earned just twice. Any time a guy takes the ball 10 times and holds opponents to two or fewer tallies, you have a chance to win a ballgame.

So, if Heyman’s report rings true – the Cubs will get a veteran presence that not only stabilizes the starting rotation but allows guys like Mike Montgomery to slot back into the pen and give the relief corps greater length – one of the team’s bigger weaknesses in 2018.